Assistant Trading Manager - Licensed Brands

Job ID
Job ID 75382
Team
Team Product
Location
Location London
Salary
Salary £34,000 - £47,000
Posting Date
Posting Date 22/04/2026
Apply Before
Apply Before 06/05/2026
Woman in a blue patterned dress walking between shelves filled with brightly coloured yarn cones.

Summary

Working Pattern: Typically 5 days a week in office, with core hours flexible between 8am and 6pm.

The Role
As an Assistant Trading Manager you will be the face of our business to our partners, someone who can navigate the entire commercial lifecycle, from weekly trade performance to long-term seasonal strategy. Ensure our brands thrive on our platform, stock stays fluid, and every season outperforms the last.

What You'll Take On

1. Supplier Management

  • Build deep and influential working relationships with brands, be the face of Next!
  • Ensure all new brands are fully onboarded with Next ways of working.
  • Accountable for all KPIs for your commission brands.
  • Support the Trading Manager and Commercial Product Manager with the negotiation process for new brand partnerships, ensuring mutually beneficial commercial terms.

2. Strategic Planning

  • Provide sales projections for the season along with "Good/Better/Best" quantity guidelines, optimum option width and phasing advice to maximise full-price sell-through and minimise terminal stock.
  • Lead weekly reviews of commission trade, proactively identifying risks to targets and spotting opportunities for sudden growth.
  • Manage the Seasonal Review process (delivered in-person or virtually), presenting a clear summary of performance and setting the opportunities and guidelines for the following season.

3. Insight & Product opportunity

  • Identifying Gaps: Use market research, "comp shopping," and internal data to identify product-level opportunities that others might miss.
  • Influencing the Range: Share top-line insights with brands to influence their future range builds, ensuring they align with our customers' needs.

4. Financial Forecasting & Stock Management

  • Maintain the integrity of internal forecasts. You are responsible for ensuring that all figures regarding Sales, Profit, Intake, MD, and RTB are realistic, achievable, and aligned with the wider business strategy.
  • Responsible for ensuring the ‘rule set’ for RTB and MD process are accurate.
  • Ensure the RTB and Markdown processes are being followed, ensuring the rule sets are accurate and timelines are strictly met.
  • Responsible for ensuring the LABEL+ volumes provided to logistics are accurate for vehicle planning.
  • Responsible for ensuring the Commission brand is bringing in the correct level of intake for the sales generated/forecast

Sponsorship
Candidates wishing to apply who would require sponsorship for this role will be required to meet the Home Office sponsorship requirements. For further information please see: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

We encourage early applications for our roles, as our recruitment process begins as soon as the role is advertised. If we successfully fill the position, this advert may close earlier than planned.

#LI-Onsite

Benefits

  • 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
  • Profit-related bonus - based on company performance
  • Private health insurance- surgery choices
  • Sharesave scheme - make savings from your net pay to buy NEXT shares at a discount
  • Pension - fixed contribution rates from both an employer and employee perspective, but you're also able to make additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) if you wish to save more.
  • 25% staff discount on most NEXT products - plus discount on other products
  • Wagestream - helping you make the most out of your money
  • Salary finance - offers access to affordable loans repaid through salary, simple savings and free financial education.
  • Life assurance
  • Direct to work - NEXT orders delivered free to the office for collection
  • VIP sale - early access to the NEXT sale
  • Access to NEXT staff shops
  • Octopus energy - like cycle-to-work, but for electric vehicles
  • Free parking (excluding London locations)
  • Travel2NEXT - bus services dependent on location
  • On site dining facilities (excluding London locations)
  • National and local discounts on goods and services - this includes things like discounted cinema tickets
  • Wellhub - includes access to discounted gym membership
  • Simply health - a healthcare subscription service
  • Aviva Digicare Workplace+ healthcare service - 7 Free services including Digital GP appointments and an annual health check.
  • Onsite GP - Leicester Head Office
  • Onsite Physio - Leicester Head Office
  • A range of dedicated 3rd party wellbeing partners
  • Free eye testing - voucher to use at specific locations
Conditions apply to all benefits. These benefits are discretionary and subject to change.

We aim to support all candidates during the application process and are happy to provide workplace adjustments when necessary. Should you need support with your application due to a disability or long-term condition, feel free to get in touch with us by email headoffice_careers@next.co.uk (please include 'Workplace Adjustments' in the subject line), or call us on 0116 284 2486 and leave a voicemail.

What's Next?

Team Overview

This is where ideas become incredible collections. Designers, Buyers, Merchandisers, and Technologists collaborate to create products our customers love. You'll spot global trends, strategically balance our range plans and meticulously test quality so every season feels fresh, inspiring and exceptional.

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Our brands

You’ve probably heard of NEXT, but did you know about our portfolio? Every brand in our offering brings a distinct story, attitude and community. Spanning contemporary lifestyle brands, established high street names and timeless collections, together they showcase the vibrancy of today’s retail world.

About NEXT

You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 35,000 people across the UK and Ireland. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 500 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on-line from over 70 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!
A group of smiling NEXT employees stand together outside the company’s modern glass-fronted building, posing beneath the large NEXT logo.

Are you ready to take it on?

Challenges. Opportunities. The future. Let’s take it on at NEXT.